Within the retail environment, product merchandizing is typically company or store specific, with each company attempting to maximize sell transactions with each consumer. For instance, understanding by a company complementary products an individual may wish to purchase may be important to the retailer. Historically, cross-selling between stores owned by different entities has not occurred, even when the stores are geographically close, such as within the same shopping mall.
Advances are continually being sought to obtain commercial advantage in retailing, whether online retailing or conventional bricks and mortar retailing.